Project Quality Control Checklist

The Inspection and Test Plan ties each spec section to the inspection points, hold points, witness points, and documentation required. Get owner and architect sign-off before mobilization — retrofitting an ITP after construction starts is how QC programs lose credibility.

Each foreman should know which CSI sections govern their scope, which submittals are required before installation, and which inspections are hold points. Post a hard copy in the trailer and load it into Procore for field access.

Spec sections often require a pre-installation meeting before the trade starts work — waterproofing, roofing, fireproofing, glazing, flooring, and similar finishes are the usual suspects. Schedule them on the three-week look-ahead so they don't get skipped under field pressure.

Build the submittal log in Procore from the spec sections — every required shop drawing, product data sheet, sample, and mock-up. A missing line in the log is a missing submittal in the field; reconcile against the table of contents, not just trade memory.

Match mill certs to the structural spec — yield strength, chemistry, heat numbers — before steel ships. For concrete, verify mix designs against compressive strength, air entrainment, and aggregate requirements. Flag any substitution requests for VE review with the EOR.

Confirm the designer's stamp and any annotations. "Approved as Noted" means order to the noted version, not the as-submitted version — the most common submittal-failure mode is a sub ordering off the original after the designer redlined it.

Walk the foreman through the spec, the approved submittals, the substrate condition, and the acceptance criteria. Document attendees and decisions in the meeting minutes — the absence of a pre-installation meeting is a frequent owner objection during punch.

Field engineer confirms the layout against the established benchmarks and column lines before the trade starts. Layout errors discovered after framing or rough-in are an order of magnitude more expensive to fix.

Inspect the first unit installed — first window, first bathroom rough-in, first parapet flashing detail — against the spec and the approved submittal. Approving a first-article sets the acceptance benchmark for the rest of the production run.

If the first-article failed, issue a written rework directive citing the spec section, the deficiency, and the corrective action required. Halt production on the affected scope until the rework is verified — letting the run continue while "we'll catch it on punch" is how systemic non-conformance is created.

Daily QC walk by the superintendent or QC manager, with the foreman of each active trade. Note observations in the daily log — workmanship issues, near-misses, weather impacts. The daily log is evidentiary in delay and differing-site-condition claims.

Every NCR captures the spec reference, the deficiency, the responsible trade, and the corrective action. A standing weekly NCR review keeps items from aging into closeout disputes; aged NCRs are a leading indicator of a punch list that won't close.

Before any in-wall, above-ceiling, or below-grade work is covered, the QC manager verifies that NCRs against that scope are closed. Once it's behind drywall or under slab, you're paying twice to fix it.

Confirm the testing lab's cylinder set covers each pour, that 7-day breaks are trending toward design strength, and 28-day results meet ACI 318 acceptance criteria. Low breaks trigger ACI 318 §26.12 evaluation — core sampling, load testing, or reinforcement analysis.

Hydrostatic tests on domestic water and waste lines, pressure tests on medical gas and refrigerant piping, duct leakage tests on supply and return systems. Witnessed tests with signed forms — verbal sign-off doesn't survive an owner challenge during closeout.

The commissioning authority witnesses startup, functional performance testing, and integrated system testing per the Cx plan. Skipping commissioning is the most common reason a TCO'd building shows up in the warranty period with HVAC complaints.

Walk the building with the architect and owner. Every item gets a responsible trade, a target completion date, and a location reference. Punch lists without named owners drift; the last 5% of work is where retainage gets stuck.

Re-walk every item with the architect. Sign-off requires verification — "the sub said it's done" is not closure. Items remaining trigger a follow-up walk, not an extension by default.

If items remain open, schedule the next walk within a week and notify the responsible trade in writing. Track aged punch items in the OAC meeting until closed; aged items past 30 days trigger back-charge review.

Unconditional final waivers from every sub, sub-sub, and supplier of record before retention release. A missed waiver from a lower-tier supplier is the most common source of a post-closeout lien on the owner's title.

Reconcile field redlines maintained throughout the job against the contract drawings. As-builts produced from memory at closeout have gaps; weekly redline maintenance during construction is the only way to deliver accurate records.

Equipment O&M manuals, attic stock inventory, manufacturer warranties, and the contractor's one-year warranty letter. Owner training sessions on major systems should be recorded and indexed in the closeout package.

Project team reviews what worked, what didn't, and where the QC plan needs revision. Capture concrete items — submittal turnaround issues with specific designers, recurring NCR categories, sub performance — not generic platitudes.